Estes Valley Crisis Advocates is facing a cut of at least $47,000 from the $180,000 it receives from the Victim of Crimes Act (VOCA) due to a $600 million reduction in the federal Crime Victims Fund (CVF).
The cut is roughly 10% of the organization’s 2024 operating budget and will result in a 10% reduction in employee hours and salaries for four of the organization’s employees beginning in January, said Executive Director Diana David Brown.
With a paid professional staff of six, a nine-member board of directors, several trained advocates and a team of volunteers, Crisis Advocates depend on grants and donations.
In 2023, 60% of the organization’s income came from federal grants, 21% from local fundraisers and donations, and 7% came from local grants. Their operating budget includes $444,322 of income, not including in-kind donations and $482,544 of expenses, including renovations to its safehouse.
The organization’s largest source of income is from the CVF which was created in 1984 through the VOCA to provide funding for state victim compensation and assistance programs that assist victims of crime. Annually the CVF supports thousands of victim assistance programs and more than 6 million people.
This fund does not receive taxpayer money, but is generated from a complicated formula of criminal fines, forfeited bail bonds, penalties, and special assessments collected by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, federal courts, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons from offenders convicted of federal crimes.
Deposits into the fund fluctuate due to the number of cases prosecuted by the Department of Justice. The CVF’s end-of-year balance for FY2024 was $1.2 billion—a 90% decrease since FY2017. Congress acted in March to cap withdrawals from the fund which will result in reductions of grants made to the states beginning January 2025.
Despite the cuts, David Brown says the staff will continue to provide services to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, at-risk youth and adults, stalking, sudden and unattended death, aaccidents including vehicle, drowning, and climbing, suicide survivors, emotional crises, secondary trauma, hate crimes, human trafficking, harassment, assault, elder abuse, and robbery.
“Our mission is broad – and that’s basically serving anyone in the Estes Valley, whether they’re tourists or residents, in times of crisis or need. That could look different, depending on what the crisis is. In our organization, we always say, a crisis is whatever somebody says it is,” said Anna Jones, one of the crisis advocates.
Crisis Advocates began in 1988 as the Victim Assistance Program of the Estes Park Police Department. The following year, eight volunteers were recruited and trained to provide assistance to victims of domestic violence and other crimes and to individuals experiencing a crisis or traumatic situation, such as an accidental or unexpected death of a loved one.
As demand grew for services grew, the organization did too, eventually changing its name in 1997 to Estes Valley Victim Advocates, Inc., and then to Estes Valley Crisis Advocates in 2015.
According to their 2023 annual report, the organization served 425 victims and provided 765 safe shelter nights to survivors of domestic violence. Nearly 60% of the safe house clients were Estes Valley locals.
In addition, the organization provided 1,349 individual client contacts which included on-scene and follow up advocacy, crisis counseling, information and referrals, and support groups. The services are free and confidential.
“We have a lot of avenues of communication. We have a 24-hour text line. We have advocates on call 24/7. We have office hours and after office hours,” said Jones.
While Crisis Advocates provide advocacy services, which can involve crisis counseling, they also know their limits. “We are very clear that we’re not therapists, and we do not provide legal advice. But if we could figure out what somebody needs, we could connect them with resources,” said Jones.
The main service provided by Estes Valley Crisis Advocates is domestic violence assistance. The organization provides a safehouse, called My Sister’s Place, equipped with a common area, three private bedrooms, a kitchen, a playroom, and a laundry room.
“We’re a little bit different, because we’re so rural. We’re isolated from other places. We run the only domestic violence shelter, in the Estes Valley area. The closest ones are over an hour away – either Fort Collins, Loveland, Longmont or Boulder,” said Michelle Fanucchi, the program director and law enforcement liaison.
When it comes to aiding victims of crime, the organization works closely with local law enforcement. “We respond with law enforcement, to help people who have been victims of Victims’ Rights Amendment crimes, so person crimes, things like – domestic violence is one – sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, harassment,” Fanucchi added.
“I think it’s going to be difficult for everyone in the state that does victims services. So that includes domestic violence shelters and every law enforcement victims services or victims response team,” Fanucchi said.
Proposed future funding
Congress is looking at ways to address the instability in funding moving forward. The bipartisan Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act of 2024 has been proposed to provide additional funding.
If passed, this act would add the False Claims Act (FCA) to the sources of revenue deposited into the CVF. The FCA is a civil rather than a criminal penalty that provides that any person who knowingly submits false claims or otherwise defrauds the federal government is liable for three times the government’s damages plus a penalty that is linked to inflation.
In 2022, the DOJ received more than $2.2 billion from the FCA. While some of these receipts are transferred to the defrauded agencies to restore what was stolen, and some of the funds are paid to government whistleblowers, much of the receipts are unobligated.
Many states are also looking at ways to shore up funding. In Colorado, the legislature passed HB 1420 which transferred $4 million from the general fund to the Colorado Crime Victim Services Fund on July 1. This will add to an initial $2 million in the budget bill and marking the second year Colorado has allocated General Fund dollars to victim services.
Additionally, the Firearms and Ammunition Excise Tax ballot measure will go before Colorado voters in November. If passed, the state will be able to impose a 6.5% excise tax on the net taxable sales of firearm dealers, firearms manufacturers, and ammunition vendors from the retail sale of any firearm, firearm precursor part, or ammunition in the state.
The new tax would generate an estimated $39 million in the first fiscal year and the funds would be used to fund mental health services, including for military veterans and at-risk youth, school safety and gun violence prevention, and support services for victims of domestic violence and other violent crimes.
In the meantime, to help close the gap locally, Crisis Advocates is gearing up for its fourth annual soup supper “Souper” fundraiser which will be held October 10. The fundraiser is organized as a convenient “grab, go, and heat up at home” dinner complete with soup, salad, rolls and a desert that can be picked up from The Egg of Estes between 4:30 and 6 p.m.
In prior years the fundraiser has generated $27,000, which is already factored into the organizations budget. The organization will need to be fiscally nimble and creative in raising funds to meet the gaps.
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To reach Estes Valley Crisis Advocates
Mailing address: PO Box 3822, Estes Park. CO 80517
Hotline Number: (970) 577-9781
Main Phone Number: (970) 577-9781
Crisis Texting Line: (513-970-3822)
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